Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Ididn’t think that I could possibly be more obsessed with this woman even if I tried but here she goes completely decimating everything I thought I knew about her.
My little devil is a fucking warrior.
While I am still looking upon my girl in awe, it's impossible to not be beside myself in anger. The thought of Valley having to go through those horrors, especially at such a young age has me seeing red.
If those motherfuckers weren’t already dead, I would hunt them down and kill them myself.
No wonder why she has avoided our advances every step of the way.
How could she not? The very essence of our existence would be a reminder of everything she has lost.
The fact that she is even allowing me to sit with her in my arms right now speaks a lot about the kind of person Valentina Rossi is.
My girl had to hide herself away as a Beta just so she felt like she could be protected. She had to deny every single instinct that I have no doubt would be raging at her just so she could never be hurt again.
My girl had set herself up to spend the rest of her days packless as a person that needs to have others around her.
It's obvious to me that she is also on a cocktail of suppressants. The thought of what they could be doing to her body is unthinkable, especially right now as she remains curled in my arms.
Now that I have my girl, I don’t ever want to let her go.
It's an honor for her to have trusted me with as much as she has. To know that I am most likely the only person to know has a strange emotion clogging my throat.
For now, I silently vow to protect her with everything I am. She will never have to walk this earth alone again while she has me.
She will never have to look over her shoulder in fear.
And the day that she finally decides to go off her suppressants, I will be there for her every step of the way.
We sit in silence together and I breathe in every single moment. My hands trail up and down the delicate skin of her arms. I’m unable to hide the smile from my face as I look at the way her flesh pebbles under my touch.
It makes me long for the scent that she is locking away from me. I want it just as much as my next breath.
It's selfish to want something like that from her but I never claimed to be a good man. Rather the opposite in fact.
Because if it is what I am suspecting, Valentina’s scent will indicate that she is mine. More so than I already know.
And not in the way of me just declaring it to the world.
No, it will be on a whole other level.
A scent-matched level.
I never thought I’d want that kind of connection with someone ever again. After losing Gwen, the idea of falling in love again after her was unthinkable.
In a way, finding happiness while she was dead almost felt like a stain to her memory in a way.
But now that I have allowed myself to actually think back to her and who she was to her core, I know that she never would have wanted us to be unhappy.
I know that she would have wanted us to find love.
And to find that kind of love with someone that has the potential to be my second chance at a mate is a blessing from the heavens. One I know Gwen would have had a part in.
She always loved looking after us in little ways like that.
I know that she would have loved Valentina. That they would have hit it off from the start.
Valley must be able to sense my subtle shift in mood as she sits up and turns to me.
“Whats wrong? Are you okay? Was I overstepping?”
Placing a hand on top of hers I smile at her. My inner thoughts are cheering at the preciousness in front of us. Even after pouring her trauma out to me, her own bleeding heart still laying in her hands, she is already thinking about me and how to make me feel better.
“No, baby. There is nothing wrong. I was just thinking about Gwen and how much she would have loved you.”
She gives me a puzzled look for a moment so I continue without giving her the time to make assumptions.
“Vic, Olis and I became a pack in high school. Vic and I knew that we were going to emerge as Alphas long before our sixteenth birthdays. Our fathers used to joke that it was because of their good breeding.”
I roll my eyes at the joke and Valley laughs.
“When Olis finally turned sixteen, we formed a pack that same day. It wasn’t long before we met Gwen.”
I smile sadly as I think back all those years ago.
“We had never put much thought into our Omega. We were so caught up in our parents demands for us that anything more than forming a pack was too much for our then pea sized brains.
“But the day Gwen walked into the classroom, everything changed. It’s like those moments you see in movies where the princes meet the princess and they live happily ever after.”
I chuckle and shake my head, knowing that reality is never like that.
“We were bonded in a week and pregnant with twins just after we graduated high school.”
There is an almost sweet but sad smile on her face as I continue.
“Around the same time we found out that we were going to have sons, mine and Vic’s parents died in a mass shooting.”
I look down almost debating my next words before I continue. If Valley was brave enough to share her trauma with me, I can be brave enough to share this part of our life with her.
“Being the first born son of the Mafia Don, Vic had to step up straight away and take over from our fathers. There was no transition period. No lengthy discussions on daily runnings. Nothing.”
I shake my head, thinking back to some of the darkest days we had following the deaths of our entire parental pack.
The war that we had to continue to fight without even knowing why we were fighting. The worry each and every day at the thought of not being able to protect what was ours. The horror as we learnt what we were bringing our unborn sons into.
It was a lot of hard work but now as I stand back and look at what Vic, Olis and I have created, I know that if the worse was to happen tomorrow and Theo had to step in, our legacy would be left in capable and safe hands.
Valley’s eyes are blown wide, looking at me in shock.
“Damn.”
I nod at her lack of words. I prepare myself for the inevitable. The screaming and shouting. The ‘how fucking dare you’ and ‘you are a psycho’ statements that are always thrown in my face whenever I have mentioned this side of my life before.
It’s exactly how Gwen reacted when she discovered this side of our life. To say she was unhappy is an understatement.
If our previous Omega was capable of murdering someone, she would have had our three heads on a chopping block quicker then you can say, bada-bing, bada-boom.
I should have expected the unexpected though as my little devil’s reply shocks me to my core.
“I couldn’t imagine having gone through all of that, especially with an Omega and twins on the way.”
I nod my head almost dumbly. The fact that I haven’t smelled this girl's scent doesn’t even matter to me anymore. She could smell like rotting fruit and I would still want her.
Because biology aside, this girl fucking sees me. She sees me clearer than any other person ever has.
She could clearly see just how deep my feelings towards our unchosen birthright and all she did was validate me.
My little devil is perfection.
“So what happened to Gwen?” Valley questions. I feel my stomach fall. I have to steal myself. It’s not like I have Vic or Olis here to back me up on this one when it gets hard. It’s been years since Gwen died but it doesn’t get easier.
That grief has never faded. I have just learned how to deal with it. How to make the days go by easier until I am able to see her again.
Taking a deep breath, I grip Valley’s hands tighter, needing to hold onto her for some kind of emotional support.
“Things were good after a few years. We fell into a good thing in the Syndicate and Underworld. We built a strong standing and became feared. Rivals didn’t mess with us because we were ruthless. We had a family to protect.”
Valley nods so I continue.
“All of that came crashing down as the boys got older. I don’t know if we just got sloppy or our routines just became too familiar but one night, the three of us went to a standard meeting with one of the motorcycle gangs in Vadena.
It was seen as a low threat as we had quite a good relationship with them so we didn’t bother to take extra soldiers with us.
“Everything was going good until our phones started to blow up with calls. Olis answered the phone at the same time one of the worst pains shot through our bond to Gwen.”
Valley gasps just as the first tears roll down my face. The first tears I've cried since the funeral. But I don’t stop. Because if I do, I know I won’t be able to continue.
“We didn’t think about sticking around. Instead we stormed out of the clubhouse and raced home.”
I choke on my words and shake my head, wishing I could unsee the horrors that flash before my eyes.
The blood. The bodies of our fallen men. The horrified looks on our son's faces as they described what happened to their mother.
I do my best to convey all of the pain from that night to Valley but it's hard. It's hard to relive the worst night of my life. To explain the horrors that we went through for almost a year until we finally got put out of our misery.
Tears stream down both of our faces as I come to the end of the journey.
“We found Gwen broken and beaten almost beyond recognition at our doorstep after we said good night to the boys one night over a year later. The coroner we hired was unable to list the true extent of the injuries she suffered both while she was alive and when she was dead.”
“Oh, Cal. I’m so sorry.” A sob breaks from Valley, launching herself at me. I catch her and bring her into my arms. Her legs rest either side of mine as she sits on my lap. I cling to her like my life depends on it. I need the comfort that I know only she can give me right now.
It’s been eighteen years since I cried like this. The pain of reliving that time of my life feels almost as raw as it did then as it does now. The difference now is, I have someone that I can lean on. Someone that can help me work through the agony.
Back then, I had to be strong for my boys. I had to be there for Olis and Vic. I couldn’t allow myself to break into a thousand pieces like I know I could do right now.
“Cal? You okay?”
The tiny voice has both Valley and I startling away from each other. I turn around and see Amity looking at both of us in concern.
“Why you crying?”
Wiping the tears away from my face, I smile sadly at my little firefly.
“I was just telling your mommy a really sad story. I got a little bit upset but I am okay now. You and your mommy make it all better.”
Amity’s smile is sweet as she launches at the both of us, pulling us into her tiny arms.
“You are all better now! We are a family and family makes us all better!”
Well, fuck. If I thought I had cried enough today, my little firefly has just gone and broke my heart again.
“I would be honored to be a part of your family, Firefly.”